US President Barack Obama welcomed the imminent start of renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians on Monday, but urged both sides to approach them with honesty.
“The most difficult work of these negotiations is ahead, and I am hopeful that both Israelis and Palestinians will approach these talks in good faith,” he said. “I am pleased that Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas have accepted Secretary Kerry’s invitation to formally resume direct final status negotiations and have sent senior negotiating teams to Washington for the first round of meetings,” Obama added.
“The United States stands ready to support them throughout these negotiations, with the goal of achieving two states, living side by side in peace and security.”
Kerry called on Monday for Israel and the Palestinians to make “reasonable compromises” for peace as he prepared to preside over their first direct negotiations in nearly three years.
“It is no secret this is a difficult process. If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago,” Kerry said with his newly named envoy for Israeli-Palestinian peace, former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, at his side.
Obama urges ‘good faith’ in talks; Indyk new ME envoy
